Methods and apparatus to signal use-specific capabilities of mobile stations to establish data transfer sessions

ABSTRACT

Example methods and apparatus to signal use-specific capabilities of mobile stations to establish data transfer sessions are disclosed. In accordance with a disclosed example method, a message is generated to initiate a data transfer session between a mobile station and a network. The message adaptable to indicate different radio access capabilities information of the mobile station. A subset of the different radio access capabilities information of the mobile station is indicated in the message. The indicated subset pertaining to a specific type of use by the mobile station for the data transfer session. The message is sent from the mobile station to the network.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

This patent claims priority to European Patent Application No.10290106.3, filed Mar. 3, 2010, which is hereby incorporated byreference herein in its entirety.

FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE

The present disclosure relates generally to network communications and,more particularly, to methods and apparatus to signal use-specificcapabilities of mobile stations to establish data transfer sessions.

BACKGROUND

Mobile communication devices exchange information with mobilecommunication networks by signaling requests to connect with the mobilecommunication networks. Such is the case when placing telephone callsand/or transmitting data using mobile communication devices. In somewireless and mobile communication systems, a mobile communication devicecan establish such a data transfer session with a network by signalingits communication capabilities to the network and requesting that thenetwork allocate a data channel for use by the mobile communicationdevice to transfer its data to the network.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 depicts an example communications network in which the examplemethods and apparatus disclosed herein may be implemented.

FIG. 2 is an example signaling exchange that can be used to establish adata transfer session between a mobile station and an access networkusing a two-phase access procedure.

FIG. 3 is an example signaling exchange that can be used to establish adata transfer session between a mobile station and an access networkusing a one-phase access procedure.

FIG. 4 depicts different example configurations of example messages inaccordance with the example methods and apparatus disclosed herein thatcan be used to communicate mobile station radio access capabilitiesduring a data transfer session setup procedure.

FIG. 5 is an example arrangement of content of a packet resource requestmessage of FIGS. 2-4.

FIG. 6 is a table showing example use-type codes that can be used inconnection with the packet resource request message of FIGS. 2-5 toidentify respective use-type radio access capabilities structuresencoded in the Packet Resource Request message.

FIGS. 7A and 7B depict tables showing example pre-defined radio accesscapabilities configurations of mobile stations.

FIGS. 8A-8C depict example structural formats that can be used to sendradio access capabilities information of mobile systems to accessnetworks during the example signaling exchanges of FIGS. 2-4.

FIG. 9 is a flow diagram representative of an example process that maybe implemented using hardware and/or machine readable instructions toselect and communicate radio access control information of the mobilestation of FIGS. 1-4.

FIG. 10 is a flow diagram representative of an example process that maybe implemented using hardware and/or machine readable instructions toselect radio access capabilities information of the mobile station ofFIGS. 1-4.

FIG. 11 is a flow diagram representative of another example process thatmay be implemented using hardware and/or machine readable instructionsto select radio access capabilities information of the mobile station ofFIGS. 1-4.

FIG. 12 is a flow diagram representative of another example process thatmay be implemented using hardware and/or machine readable instructionsto select radio access capabilities information of the mobile station ofFIGS. 1-4.

FIG. 13 is a flow diagram representative of an example process that maybe implemented using hardware and/or machine readable instructions toimplement the example capabilities signaling exchange in which a mobilestation requests a one-phase access procedure.

FIG. 14 is an example block diagram of the mobile station of FIGS. 1-4that can be used to implement the example methods and apparatusdisclosed herein.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Although the following discloses example methods and apparatusincluding, among other components, software executed on hardware, itshould be noted that such methods and apparatus are merely illustrativeand should not be considered as limiting. For example, it iscontemplated that any or all of these hardware and software componentscould be embodied exclusively in hardware, exclusively in software,exclusively in firmware, or in any combination of hardware, software,and/or firmware. Accordingly, while the following describes examplemethods and apparatus, persons having ordinary skill in the art willreadily appreciate that the examples provided are not the only way toimplement such methods and apparatus.

The example methods and apparatus described herein can be used inconnection with mobile stations such as mobile communication devices,mobile computing devices, or any other element, entity, device, orservice capable of communicating wirelessly with a wireless network.Mobile stations, also referred to as terminals, wireless terminals, oruser equipment (UE), may include mobile smart phones (e.g., aBlackBerry® smart phone), wireless personal digital assistants (PDA),laptop/notebook/netbook computers with wireless adapters, etc.

The example methods and apparatus described herein can be used to signalcapabilities of mobile stations (e.g., access-stratum radio accesscapabilities) for data transfer sessions between the mobile stations andaccess networks. The example methods and apparatus are described hereinas being implemented in connection with GSM (Global System for Mobilecommunications) networks, General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) networks,Enhanced Data Rates for GSM Evolution (EDGE) networks (or Enhanced GPRS(EGPRS)), and other mobile communication networks to implement datatransfers between such networks and mobile stations. However, theexample methods and apparatus may additionally or alternatively beimplemented in connection with other types of wireless networksincluding other types of mobile communication networks to implement datatransfers.

The example methods and apparatus disclosed herein can be used inconnection with different types of data transfer sessions including, forexample, small data transfer (SDT) sessions, machine-to-machine datatransfer sessions, uplink data transfer sessions, and/or any other typeof data transfer sessions including any combination thereof. Datatransfers enable mobile stations to send data to networks on anas-needed basis and can be triggered by different subsystems of a mobilestation upon the need to send information to a network. Such informationmay be generated by the mobile station (e.g., mobile station statusinformation) or may be user-generated information (e.g., messaging,profile changes). When a data transfer need arises, a mobile station mayrequest a connection (e.g., one or more resources for uplinktransmission) with a network.

To establish a data transfer session, a network may allocate resources(e.g., data channels, timeslots, spreading codes, etc.) to a mobilestation in accordance with radio access capabilities (RACs) of themobile station. A temporary block flow (TBF) is an example of a datatransfer session. The capabilities of the mobile station that are knownto the network affect the manner in which the network communicates withthe mobile station. For instance, the network may limit a connectionwith the mobile station to particular features or may enable furtherfeatures for the connection based on the capabilities of the mobilestation. Therefore, the mobile station may perform a capabilitiessignaling to communicate information concerning its radio accesscapabilities to a radio access network. Such capabilities can be relatedto packet switched radio access capabilities or circuit switched radioaccess capabilities.

Examples of different types of radio access capabilities communicated bythe mobile station to the network include supported GSM frequency bands(e.g., GSM 900, GSM 1800, GSM 1900), multislot classes associated withdifferent modes of operation (e.g., GPRS multislot class, EGPRSmultislot class, dual transfer mode (DTM) multislot class for GPRS orEGPRS, high multislot class), radio transmission capabilities (e.g.,radio frequency (RF) power capabilities, 8 phase shift keying (8PSK)power capabilities, Gaussian minimum shift keying (GMSK)/8PSK powerprofile), supported features (e.g., Downlink Advanced ReceiverPerformance (DARP), packet-switched (PS) handover, flexible timeslotassignment, reduced latency, downlink dual carrier, uplink/downlinkEGPRS2), and additional supported radio access technologies (e.g.,Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) frequency-divisionduplexing (FDD) or time-division duplexing (TDD), code division multipleaccess (CDMA) 2000, Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access (E-UTRA)FDD or TDD).

Radio access capabilities of a mobile station may be signaled or sent toan access network using a two-phase access procedure or a one-phaseaccess procedure. A two-phase access procedure enables sendingrelatively more capabilities information of a mobile station to anaccess network prior to setting up a data transfer session between themobile station and the access network than does a one-phase accessprocedure. Example two-phase and one-phase access procedures aredepicted in FIGS. 2 and 3 and are described below in connection with theexample methods and apparatus disclosed herein.

A drawback of using known capabilities signaling techniques inconnection with the two-phase access or one-phase access procedures isthat mobile stations, in some instances, cannot communicate all of theirradio access capabilities in order to perform data transfer sessions.For example, in the one-phase access procedure, a single message (achannel request message) is used by the mobile station to obtain a datachannel allocation from an access network to allow the mobile station toperform its data transfer. The channel request message in the one-phaseaccess procedure provides limited space (e.g., two bits) forcommunicating the radio access capabilities of the mobile station. Thus,relatively little information to describe the capabilities of the mobilestation can be communicated to the access network using the one-phaseaccess procedure.

The two-phase access procedure provides one or two messages for use bythe mobile station to communicate its radio access capabilities to theaccess network prior to establishing a data transfer session. However,known capabilities signaling techniques associated with the two-phaseaccess procedure also often do not provide sufficient space to transferthe complete radio access capabilities of a mobile station. Twopreviously specified and accepted techniques for the two-phase accessprocedure are used in known systems. The first technique requires that amobile station repeats all capabilities for each GSM frequency band(i.e., an Access Technology Type) supported by the mobile station, eventhough the capabilities may be the same across every frequency bandsupported by that mobile station. Thus, use of the first technique canresult in a relatively high rate of redundancy. In the second technique,a mobile station must include the full capabilities only for one GSMfrequency band and communicate a reduced capabilities set for otherbands for which the mobile station has the same basic capabilities.Thus, in the second technique, the mobile station need not repeatcapabilities that are common to all of its supported frequency bands.

Although the second known technique described above for signaling radioaccess capabilities in a two-phase access procedure provides relativelymore space for communicating such capabilities, both the first andsecond known techniques have become significantly limiting over time asnew Access Technology Types and capabilities are defined for mobilestations. For example, at the introduction of GPRS in Release 97 of theGSM standard, a mobile station radio access capability informationelement (MS radio access capability IE) (i.e., an information elementused in a message to convey radio access capabilities of a mobilestation to establish a data transfer connection) was specified andcapable of indicating all capabilities of a mobile station known at thetime. At that time, a relatively short MS radio access capability IE wassufficient for describing the full capabilities of a mobile station.However, features of EGPRS, new frequency bands, radio accesstechnologies (RATs), and other capabilities have been since introduced(in the GSM specification under the 3rd Generation Partnership Project(3GPP)) and have lead to increasing the size of the MS radio accesscapability IE for a mobile station supporting these features orcapabilities.

The MS radio access capability IE can be truncated as required,depending on the available space in a message in which it is being sentby a mobile station. Newer capabilities information is typicallyappended to the end of the MS radio access capability IE inchronological order of the specification of the correspondingfeature/capability. Truncating the MS radio access capability IE affectsthe ability to communicate relatively newer (e.g., more recentlyspecified) capabilities to an access network while a mobile stationattempts to establish a data transfer session. Thus, a truncated MSradio access capability IE may result in the access network notadvantageously using features that the mobile station supports. That is,upon receiving a MS radio access capability IE from a mobile station, anaccess network must assume that the mobile station does not support anyfeature and/or frequency band which is not explicitly indicated (e.g.,truncated capabilities) as being supported.

As a result of the lengthier message or quantity of messages needed tocommunicate mobile station radio access capabilities to an accessnetwork, establishing data transfer sessions using known techniques canbe relatively inefficient. Such inefficiencies can be particularlynotable for small data transfers. For example, the data transfer setupsignaling messages may require transmitting more information than therelatively small quantity (e.g., a quantity of data below apre-determined threshold characteristic of small data transfers) of datatransmitted during a small data transfer session such that the signalingoverhead to establish communications may become relatively significantin comparison to the transmitted data. The impact of such inefficientsignaling can have a significantly negative impact on battery life of amobile station, on the utilization of network resources, and on the timerequired for performing the data transfer.

Unlike known techniques, the example methods and apparatus disclosedherein provide relatively more efficient procedures and data formatsthat can be used to communicate radio access capabilities of mobilestations to access networks for establishing data transfer connections.In some instances, the example techniques disclosed herein involveomitting capabilities from a MS radio access capabilities IE that arenot relevant to a type of use for a particular data transfer sessionand/or omitting legacy radio access capabilities. Relevant capabilitiesmay include, for example, relevant multislot classes, relevant switchingtimes, and relevant packet switched handover capabilities indicated by amobile station to an access network as supported by the mobile station.Also, the techniques described herein enable or facilitate omittingcapabilities not related to GSM communications (or not relevant to anaccess technology used between a mobile station and an access networkand/or core network). In addition, some techniques described herein maybe used to implicitly or expressly inform an access network when radioaccess capabilities information communicated by a mobile station is notcomplete and may further indicate that further (e.g., complete) radioaccess capabilities of the mobile station can be obtained from a corenetwork. In some example implementations, some omitted legacy radioaccess capabilities are mandatory capabilities that are assumed byaccess networks as being supported by mobile stations (e.g., based onthe indicated support of other, non-mandatory features, or based on theuse of any of the techniques described herein), while other omittedlegacy radio access capabilities are those that are typically no longerused to establish data transfer connections with access networks.

In some example implementations described herein, to enable the mobilestation to send radio access capabilities that are relevant to aparticular data transfer session between the mobile station and anetwork, the mobile station can generate a message having a structuralformat that is adaptable or changeable to indicate different radioaccess capabilities information of the mobile station. In this manner,the mobile station can indicate a relevant subset of its different radioaccess capabilities in the message. The indicated subset can beassociated with a specific type of use (e.g., a machine-to-machine datatransfer use, an uplink data transfer use, a small data transfer use) bythe mobile station for the data transfer session. The mobile station canthen send the message to the network to request a data channel resourcefor a data transfer connection.

As described in further detail below, communicating radio accesscapabilities relevant to a particular data transfer can be accomplishedthrough the use of use-type radio access capabilities structures.Example use-type capabilities structures include a machine typecommunication (MTC) capabilities structure, an uplink capabilitiesstructure, a small data transfer (SDT) capabilities structure, and ageneral capabilities structure. The MTC capabilities structure can beused by a mobile station to communicate relevant radio accesscapabilities when establishing a machine-to-machine data transfersession. The uplink capabilities structure can be used by a mobilestation to communicate relevant radio access capabilities whenestablishing a data transfer session for an uplink only data transfer.The SDT capabilities structure can be used by a mobile station tocommunicate relevant radio access capabilities when establishing a datatransfer session for a small data transfer. The general capabilitiesstructure (e.g., an exhaustive or complete capabilities structure) canbe used to communicate an exhaustive or full list of radio accesscapabilities of a mobile station when establishing a data transfersession. The general capabilities structure can be used when a use-typeof a data transfer session is undetermined, when the data transfersession is to be used for multiple types of uses (e.g., a multi-purposedata transfer), or when a radio access capabilities structure for aparticular use-type is not supported by an access network.

In the illustrated examples described herein, a mobile station can useuse-type radio access capabilities structures in a mutually exclusivemanner based on their relevancy to particular types of data transfersessions. For example, when establishing a machine-to-machine datatransfer session, a mobile station can communicate radio accesscapabilities of a MTC capabilities structure without communicatingcapabilities described in other use-type structures. In an exampleimplementation, a mobile station selects a use-type capabilitiesstructure from a group of different use-type capabilities structures,each of which is indicative of a different set of radio accesscapabilities that the mobile station supports (and which further mayimplicitly indicate the mobile station's support of one or moreadditional features or capabilities) and that are relevant to aparticular type of data transfer session between the mobile station andthe wireless network. The mobile station can then format a structuralformat of a message or an information element (e.g., an informationfield) in a message based on the selected use-type capabilitiesstructure to indicate the radio access capabilities informationcorresponding to the selected use-type capabilities structure. In theillustrated examples described herein, the mobile station includes acode in the message that is indicative of the presence of the selecteduse-type capabilities structure in the message. The mobile station 102sends the message to the wireless network to request a data channelresource based on the indicated radio access capabilities.

Another example implementation disclosed herein can be used by mobilestations to communicate indicators (e.g., identifiers) of pre-definedradio access capabilities to networks. Such indicators can be radioaccess capabilities configuration identifiers (RAC configuration IDs)that are pre-defined (e.g., industry-standard definitions), assigned bya network, or negotiated between a mobile station and a network toindicate respective capability configurations (e.g., values fordifferent radio access capabilities). In this manner, a mobile stationcan inform a network of its support of the radio access capabilitiescorresponding to a particular RAC configuration ID using only a fewbits. For example, the mobile station can generate a message to initiatea data transfer session between itself and a network. The mobile stationcan select a code value from a plurality of code values, each of thecode values pre-defined to indicate a respective subset of radio accesscapabilities of the mobile station. The mobile station can include theselected code value in the message and send the message to the network.In some example implementations, the mobile station can select andinclude multiple such code values in the message to indicate aparticular combination of pre-defined radio access capabilities.

In yet another example implementation disclosed herein, a mobile stationcan request a particular quantity of communication blocks to beallocated by a network for use by the mobile station to communicate itsradio access capabilities. In this manner, the quantity of blocksrequested by the mobile station can be of sufficient and pertinentlength to accommodate all of its radio access capabilities that are, forexample, relevant to a particular use without having to truncate thosecapabilities and without having to use more communication blockresources than necessary. The mobile station then receives an allocationof the requested quantity of blocks on the data channel from the accessnetwork and generates one or more messages based on the allocatedquantity of blocks. The mobile station then sends radio accesscapability information of the mobile station in the one or more messagesto the access network on the data channel via the allocated blocks toinitiate a data transfer session.

Now turning in detail to FIG. 1, an example mobile communicationsnetwork 100 is shown in communication with a mobile station 102. Themobile communications network 100 includes an access network 104 and acore network 106. The access network 104 includes an access networkinterface 108 in communication with the mobile station 102 to enable themobile station 102 to exchange information with the core network 106.The access network interface 108 can be implemented using aprocessor-based device or a controller such as, for example, a packetcontrol unit (PCU) for a GSM enhanced radio access network (GERAN), aradio network controller (RNC) for a UMTS radio access network (UMTSRAN), or any other type of controller for any other type of accessnetwork.

The core network 106 can be a GPRS core network or a core network of anyother communication technology type. In the illustrated example, thecore network 106 includes a mobile switching center (MSC) server 110, aserving GPRS support node (SGSN) 112, and a gateway GPRS support node(GGSN) 114. As is known, the SGSN 112 manages subscriber-specific dataduring subscriber sessions and the GGSN 114 establishes and maintainsconnections between the core network 106 and external packet datanetworks 116 (e.g., the Internet, private networks, etc.).

As shown in the illustrated example of FIG. 1, the mobile station 102registers with the core network 106 upon discovering the access network104 by performing a registration process 118 using non-access stratumsignaling. During the registration process 118, the mobile station 102sends an initial communication including all or a subset of its radioaccess capabilities to the core network 106. In some exampleimplementations, the mobile station 102 may send an exhaustive list ofits radio access capabilities to the core network 106, while in otherexample implementations, the mobile station 102 can send radio accesscapabilities relevant only to downlink data transfers (in which caseuplink-relevant capability information can be communicated when themobile station 102 subsequently requests the access network 104 toestablish a data transfer session), or omitting capabilities which areexclusively applicable to uplink data transfers (e.g., the support ofextended dynamic allocation (EDA)). Registration using non-accessstratum signaling is typically not latency critical and occursrelatively infrequently, and thus, large amounts of information such asan exhaustive list of radio access capabilities can be sent during sucha process with little performance impact to the mobile station 102.

In some example implementations, the core network 106 can communicatethe list of radio access capabilities received from the mobile station102 to the access network interface 108 after the registration process118 such as when initiating a downlink transfer. In some exampleimplementations, some or all of the indications of radio accesscapabilities sent by the mobile station 102 to the core network 106(e.g., during the registration process 118 or similar procedures) aredifferent from the radio access capability indications sent by themobile station 102 to the access network 104 during signaling proceduresto request resources for establishing uplink data transfers. Suchindications of radio access capabilities sent during different events(e.g., when registering with a core network and when requestingresources to establish an uplink data transfer) can differ either inscope (e.g., capabilities sent to the access network 104 may be thosethat are only applicable to uplink data transfers and/or capabilitiessent to the core network 106 may omit such capabilities or may beexhaustive) or in format (e.g., the capabilities signaled to the corenetwork 106 may use an first structural format in a message orinformation element, while capabilities signaled to the access network104 may use a second structural format different from the firststructural format).

After registering with the core network 106 using the registrationprocess 118, the mobile station 102 can subsequently, at one or moretimes while it is registered, request connections with the accessnetwork interface 108 to request the access network interface 108 toestablish data transfer sessions between the mobile station 102 and theaccess network 104. For example, as shown in FIG. 1, the mobile station102 establishes a data transfer session 120 with the access network 104.During a process to establish the data transfer session 120 or after thedata transfer session 120 has been established, the mobile station 102sends mobile station (MS) radio access capabilities information 122 tothe access network interface device 108. In the illustrated examplesdisclosed herein, while the mobile station 102 may send an exhaustivelist of its capabilities to the access network 104 during theregistration process 118 using non-access stratum signaling, when themobile station 102 subsequently requests the data transfer session 120,it uses access stratum signaling to send to the access network 104 onlythe subset of the radio access capabilities that the mobile station 102intends to use for the data transfer session 120. For example, if thedata transfer session 120 is intended for a small data transfer, the MSradio access capabilities 122 communicated by the mobile station 102 tothe access network interface 108 will indicate only those radio accesscapabilities relevant to small data transfers. In this manner, themobile station 102 need not communicate the exhaustive list of its radioaccess capabilities every time it requests a data transfer session.Unlike non-access stratum signaling, access stratum signaling is latencycritical and can occur relatively more frequently. Thus, reducing thesubset of radio access capabilities sent by the mobile station 102 tothe access network interface 104 while establishing data transfersessions can improve the performance and efficiency of data transfersessions between the mobile station 102 and the access network 104.

The data transfer session 120 can be a small data transfer session, amachine-to-machine data transfer session, an uplink data transfersession, and/or any other type of data transfer session including anycombination thereof. In some example implementations, the mobile station102 can establish the data transfer session 120 by requesting the accessnetwork 108 to establish a TBF in accordance with the example methodsand apparatus disclosed herein to perform a small data transfer, amachine-to-machine data transfer, an uplink data transfer, etc. Theexample methods and apparatus disclosed herein facilitate signaling theMS radio access capabilities information 122 to the access networkinterface 108 using techniques that are relatively more efficient thanknown techniques.

The example methods and apparatus disclosed herein can be used to sendthe MS radio access capabilities information 122 using a two-phaseaccess procedure or a one-phase access procedure. FIG. 2 depicts examplesignaling of a two-phase access procedure 200 and FIG. 3 depicts examplesignaling of a one-phase access procedure 300. The access procedures 200and 300 can be used to establish a data transfer session (e.g., the datatransfer session 120 of FIG. 1) with a GERAN. Referring to FIG. 2, themobile station 102 initiates the two-phase access procedure 200 bysending a channel request message 202 to the access network interface108 via a random access channel (RACH) (or any other suitable availablechannel). The mobile station 102 indicates in the channel requestmessage 102 that it is requesting to perform a two-phase accessprocedure.

The access network interface 108 responds by sending an immediateassignment message 204 to the mobile station 102 via a common controlchannel (CCCH). The immediate assignment message 204 assigns a quantity(N) of blocks allocated on an uplink data channel for use by the mobilestation 102 to send its radio access capabilities (e.g., the MS radioaccess capabilities information 122 of FIG. 1) to the access networkinterface device 108. The mobile station 102 then generates and sends apacket resource request (PRR) message 206 to the access networkinterface device 108. The mobile station 102 sends the PRR message 206via a packet associated control channel (PACCH) using one of the blocksallocated by the access network interface device 108. The PRR message206 includes a MS radio access capabilities IE including the radioaccess capabilities of the mobile station 102. Example implementationsof the PRR message 206 are described below in connection with FIG. 4.

If additional space is required to communicate the radio accesscapabilities of the mobile station 102 to the access network interfacedevice 108, the mobile station 102 generates and sends an additional MSradio access capabilities (AMSRAC) message 208 to the access networkinterface 108 via the PACCH. The AMSRAC message 208 includes anotherinstance of the MS radio access capabilities IE with the additionalradio access capabilities of the mobile station 102. The access networkinterface 108 can use the received capabilities of the mobile station102 to allocate an uplink data channel based on the received radioaccess capabilities for use by the mobile station 102 during a datatransfer session (e.g., the data transfer session 120 of FIG. 1). Theaccess network interface 108 then communicates a packet uplinkassignment message 210 to the mobile station 102 via a packet associatedcontrol channel (PACCH). The packet uplink assignment message 210indicates a data uplink channel allocated to the mobile station 102 foruse during the data transfer session 120.

Unlike the two-phase access procedure 200 of FIG. 2 that allocates adata uplink channel after the mobile station 102 sends the PRR message206 to the access network interface device 108, the one-phase accessprocedure 300 of FIG. 3 enables allocation of a data uplink channel tothe mobile station 102 without needing the mobile station 102 to send aPRR message to the access network interface device 108. To initiate theone-phase access procedure 300 of FIG. 3, the mobile station 102 sends achannel request message 302 to the access network interface 108 via aRACH (or any other available suitable channel). In the channel requestmessage 302, the mobile station 102 requests to perform a one-phaseaccess procedure and can indicate its radio access capabilities. In someexample implementations, the amount of information that the mobilestation 102 can include in the channel request message 302 to indicateits radio access capabilities may be relatively limited depending on theamount of space available in the channel request message 302. In theillustrated example, the access network interface 108 can determinewhether to grant a one-phase access procedure or to require a two-phaseaccess procedure. For example, the access network interface 108 canrequire a two-phase access procedure if it requires further radio accesscapabilities information from the mobile station 102.

The access network interface 108 responds by sending an immediateassignment message 304 via a CCCH (or any other available suitablechannel). If the access network interface 108 elects to grant theone-phase access procedure, the immediate assignment message 304 willindicate an allocation of an uplink data channel for use by the mobilestation 102 to implement the data transfer session 120. In this manner,the mobile station 102 can immediately begin its data transfer.

If the access network interface 108 elects not to grant a one-phaseaccess procedure but to instead require a two-phase access procedure,the immediate assignment message 304 will be substantially similar tothe immediate assignment message 204 of FIG. 2 allocating a quantity (N)of blocks for use by the mobile station 102 to communicate further radioaccess capabilities. As shown in FIG. 3, the mobile station 102 cancommunicate its radio access capabilities messages to the access networkinterface 108 using a PRR message 306 (substantially similar oridentical to the PRR message 206 of FIG. 2) and optionally an AMSRACmessage 308 (substantially similar or identical to the AMSRAC message208 of FIG. 2) if necessary to communicate additional radio accesscapabilities that did not fit in the PRR message 306. In such a case,the access network interface 108 may then send a packet uplinkassignment message 310 (substantially similar or identical to the packetuplink assignment message 210 of FIG. 2).

Alternatively, the access network interface 108 may elect to grant theone-phase access procedure but request a full or exhaustive listing ofradio access capabilities from the mobile station 102. In suchinstances, the immediate assignment message 304 allocates an uplink datachannel to the mobile station 102, and the mobile station 102communicates the requested radio access capabilities to the accessnetwork interface 108 in the PRR message 306 (and the AMSRAC message308, if more space is required) via the allocated data channel. Inaddition, the access network interface 108 would not necessarilycommunicate the packet uplink assignment message 310, because theimmediate assignment message 304 already allocated the uplink datachannel to the mobile station 102.

FIG. 4 depicts different example configurations of example messages inaccordance with the example methods and apparatus disclosed herein thatcan be used to communicate mobile station radio access capabilitiesduring a data transfer setup procedure (e.g., the procedures 200 and/or300 of FIGS. 2 and 3). As shown in FIG. 4, a one-phase access typicallyinvolves exchanging a channel request message 402 and an immediateassignment message 408 between the mobile station 102 and the accessnetwork interface 108. A two-phase access typically involves exchangingthe channel request message 402, the immediate assignment message 408, apacket resource request message 412, and, when additional space isrequired, an additional MS radio access capabilities message 418. Themessages are shown in FIG. 4 to provide example illustrations ofdifferent information fields that can be provided therein to facilitateor enable communication radio access capabilities of the mobile station102 to the access network interface 108 in accordance with the examplemethods and apparatus disclosed herein. Although FIG. 4 shows thedifferent information fields in connection with particular types ofmessages, in other example implementations, the information fields maybe provided in others of the messages illustrated in FIG. 4 or may beprovided in other types of messages not shown in FIG. 4. Thus, theplacements of the information fields are shown by way of example in FIG.4 in connection with particular messages; however, such informationfields may additionally or alternatively be placed in other messages.

Now turning in detail to FIG. 4, in some example implementations, theaccess network interface 108 can broadcast system information (SI)messages 401 to communicate the radio access capabilities supported bythe access network 104 (FIG. 1) via a broadcast control channel (BCCH).As shown in FIG. 4, the broadcast SI messages 401 can be configured toinclude a network-supported capabilities field 410 (or fields) in whichthe access network interface 108 can indicate the radio accesscapabilities supported by the access network 104. In some exampleimplementations, the broadcast SI message 401 may also be used toindicate whether the access network 104 supports only specific use-typecapability structures (e.g., the MTC capabilities structure 806, but notthe SDT capabilities structure 810 of FIG. 8). The network-supportedcapabilities information can then be used by the mobile station 102 todetermine whether it can connect to the access network 104 for aparticular use-type data transfer session. Additionally oralternatively, the mobile station 102 can use the network-supportedcapabilities to filter its radio access capabilities to identify thosethat are supported by the access network 104 and, thus, communicate onlythose capabilities to the access network interface device 108.Additionally or alternatively, the access network interface 108 maycommunicate the network-supported capabilities field(s) 410 to themobile station 102 via the immediate assignment message 408 or any othermessage suitable for this purpose.

In some example implementations disclosed herein, the mobile station 102uses a channel request message 402 during a two-phase access procedure(e.g., the two-phase access procedure 200 of FIG. 2) to indicate aquantity (N) of blocks required for the mobile station 102 to send itsradio access capabilities to the access network interface device 108.For example, as shown in FIG. 4, the channel request message 402 can bedefined to include a requested block quantity field 404 to indicate thequantity (N) of blocks on an uplink data channel that the mobile station102 intends to use to send its capabilities. In some exampleimplementations, the mobile station 102 may determine a quantity (N) ofblocks value for the requested block quantity field 404 based on aquantity of data or data size required to send the radio accesscapabilities information (e.g., radio access capabilities relevant for aparticular type of use of a data transfer session or radio accesscapabilities that are commonly supported by the mobile station 102 andthe access network 104, which may be for a particular type of use of adata transfer session) of the mobile station 102 to the access networkinterface 108.

As shown in FIG. 4, the channel request message 402 can include one ormore capabilities configuration ID field(s) 406. In some exampleimplementations disclosed herein, the mobile station 102 can use the oneor more capabilities configuration ID field(s) 406 of the channelrequest message 402 during a one-phase access procedure (e.g., theone-phase access procedure 300 of FIG. 3) to send one or more radioaccess capabilities configuration IDs (e.g., RAC configuration IDs 702and 706 of FIGS. 7A and 7B) pre-defined to represent a particular radioaccess capabilities configuration or configurations of the mobilestation 102. The pre-defined capabilities configuration IDs can bedefined by industry standards, network-assigned, or network-negotiatedsuch that any access network could determine the capabilitiesconfiguration of any mobile station based on a capabilitiesconfiguration IDs.

In some example implementations disclosed herein, the mobile station 102uses a PRR message 412 to send its radio access capabilities in a MSradio access capabilities IE field 414 structured or arranged as shownin FIGS. 5 and 8A-8C. In addition, if the length of the MS radio accesscapabilities IE field 414 is insufficient to include all of the radioaccess capabilities of the mobile station 102, the mobile station 102can set an AMSRAC message indicator 416 in the PRR message 412 toindicate that the mobile station 102 will send an AMSRAC message 418including its additional radio access capabilities using anotherinstance of the MS radio access capabilities IE field 414. Referringbriefly to FIG. 5, an example information arrangement 500 of the PRRmessage 412 (or the PRR messages 206 and 306 of FIGS. 2 and 3) shows thearrangement of the MS radio access capabilities IE field 414 and theAMSRAC message indicator 416 in the content of the PRR message 412.

As shown in FIG. 4, the MS radio access capabilities IE field 414includes a coding form field 420 and a capabilities structure field 422to include capabilities information from radio access capabilitiesstructures. As described in more detail below in connection with FIGS. 6and 8A-8C, the radio access capabilities structures can be use-typestructures, each of which indicates radio access capabilities associatedwith or relevant to a particular type of use (e.g., a machine-to-machinecommunication session, an uplink-only communication session, a smalldata transfer session, a general or multi-use communication session) fora data transfer session.

In the illustrated example, values stored in the coding form field 420indicate which type of radio access capabilities structures is reflectedin the capabilities structure field 422. The coding form field 420 canserve as a key for the access network interface 108 to identify thestructural format used to represent radio access capabilitiesinformation in the capabilities structure field 422. That is, for eachform code value (e.g., use-type codes 602 of FIG. 6) that can be storedin the coding form field 420, a different format structure can be usedto store radio access capabilities in the capabilities structure field422 to accommodate the specific types of capabilities applicable foreach type of use for a data transfer session.

FIG. 6 is a table 600 showing example use-type codes 602 that can beused in connection with the PRR message 412 and the AMSRAC message 418of FIGS. 4 and 5 (or the PRR messages 206 and 306 and the AMSRACmessages 208 and 308 of FIGS. 2 and 3) to identify respective use-typeradio access capabilities structures encoded in the PRR message 412. Inthe illustrated example, the use-type codes 602 are shown assequentially numbered values, each of which is indicative of arespective use-type radio access capabilities structure 604. The mobilestation 102 can write or insert the use-type code 602 in the coding formfield 420 of the MS radio access capabilities IE 414 shown in FIG. 4 toidentify the type of radio access capability structure coding in thecapabilities structure field 422. In the illustrated examples describedherein, the use-type codes 602 and corresponding use-type radio accesscapabilities structures 604 may be implemented using the structuresshown in FIGS. 8A-8C.

In the illustrated example, the use-type radio access capabilitiesstructures 604 are listings, sets, subsets, or groupings of capabilitiesreferred to as a type A structure 604 a, a type B structure 604 b, atype C structure 604 c, and a type D structure 604 d. For example, thetype A structure 604 a can be a general capabilities structureindicative of radio access capabilities to establish data transfersessions between the mobile station 102 and the access network interface108 of FIGS. 1-4 when a particular type of use for the data transfer isnot specified or does not pertain to any of the other radio accesscapabilities structures. The type B structure 604 b can be, for example,a machine type communications (MTC) structure indicative of radio accesscapabilities relevant to (or which may be relevant to) data transfersessions for use in machine-to-machine data transfers. The type Cstructure 604 c can be, for example, an uplink communications structureindicative of radio access capabilities relevant to data transfersessions for use in uplink-only data transfers. For example, while otherradio access capabilities structures (e.g., the structures 604 a, 604 b,and 604 d) can provide capabilities information related to uplink anddownlink communications (e.g., uplink/downlink capabilities for MTC orSDT data transfers), the type C structure 604 c can be indicative ofcapabilities related only to uplink communications to establishuplink-specific data transfer sessions. The type D structure 604 d canbe, for example, a SDT structure indicative of radio access capabilitiesapplicable to small data transfer sessions. In some instances, themobile station 102 can send one of the use-type codes 602 and acorresponding one of the use-type radio access capabilities structures604 when it intends one type of use for a data transfer session.

The use-type codes 602 and corresponding use-type radio accesscapabilities structures 604 can advantageously be used in the examplemethods and apparatus disclosed herein to minimize the quantity of radioaccess capabilities sent by the mobile station 102 to the access networkinterface 108 to only relevant capabilities when requesting a datatransfer session (e.g., the data transfer session 120 of FIG. 1). Theuse-type codes 602 can also advantageously be used in the examplemethods and apparatus disclosed herein to facilitate or enable futureexpansion or future changes of the types of capabilities that can becommunicated in the MS radio access capabilities IE 414 of FIG. 4 toaccommodate capabilities developed or standardized in the future. Forexample, when a capability is added to (or removed from) one of theuse-type radio access capabilities structures 604, its correspondinguse-type code 602 can remain unchanged while identifying the updateduse-type radio access capabilities structure 604 in the capabilitiesstructure field 422 of FIG. 4. In addition, subsequently added use-typecodes 602 can be specified to identify different use-type capabilitystructures that are supported or standardized in the future.

FIGS. 7A and 7B depict tables 700 and 701 showing example pre-definedradio access capability configurations that may be used to indicate thecapabilities of the mobile station 102. The table 700 shows radio accesscapabilities (RAC) configuration IDs 702, each of which is used toindicate a respective configuration of radio access capabilitiessettings 704 for GPRS capability subsets. In table 701, each RACconfiguration ID 706 is used to indicate a respective configuration ofradio access capabilities settings 708 for DTM capability subsets. Eachof the radio access capabilities settings 704 and 708 is a listing, set,subset, or grouping of different types of radio access capabilities(e.g., two or more of a multislot classes capabilities type, a supportedmodulation schemes capabilities type, a packet switched handovercapabilities type, a DTM capabilities type, a power class capabilitiestype, a latency reduction capabilities type, and/or any other suitabletypes of radio access capabilities) that can be pre-defined inaccordance with industry standards, assigned by the access network 108,or negotiated between the mobile station 102 and the access networkinterface 108. In this manner, the mobile station 102 can inform theaccess network interface 108 of particular radio access capabilitiessettings by communicating one or more of the RAC configuration IDs 702and/or 706 corresponding to its radio access capabilities. Thus, themobile station 102 need not explicitly communicate all of its radioaccess capabilities but can instead exclude from (or not include in) acapabilities signaling message (e.g., the channel request message 402 orthe PRR message 412 of FIG. 4) the individual radio access capabilitiesinformation indicated by the one or more RAC configuration IDs 702 and706.

The RAC configuration IDs 702 and 706 can be advantageously used inconnection with the one-phase access procedure 300 of FIG. 3 becauseeach RAC configuration ID 702 and 706 requires only minimal space in amessage (e.g., in the channel request message 302) to indicate radioaccess capabilities of the mobile station 102. For example, the mobilestation 102 can communicate one or more of the RAC configuration IDs 702and 706 in the capabilities configuration ID field(s) 406 of the channelrequest message 402 of FIG. 4. In some example implementations, the RACconfiguration IDs 702 and 706 can be advantageously used to reduce oreliminate the need to re-convey capabilities information during the samesignaling procedure (e.g., the signaling procedures 200 and 300 of FIGS.2 and 3) to request a data transfer session. In such exampleimplementations, communicating one or more of the RAC configuration IDs702 and 706 from the mobile station 102 to the access network interface108 once in the channel request message 402 would be sufficient for theaccess network interface 108 to establish a data transfer session forthe mobile station 102 without requiring the mobile station 102 tore-convey explicit indications of its capabilities via the packetresource request message 412 or any other subsequent message.

In some example implementations, unlike known techniques that requirethe use of an access control burst (e.g., a GSM access control burst viaa random access channel (RACH)) to communicate radio access capabilitiesfrom a mobile station to an access network, the RAC configuration IDs702 and 706 disclosed herein can be advantageously communicated in apayload-carrying data packet via a normal burst (e.g., a GSM normalburst via any data channel). In this manner, the example methods andapparatus disclosed herein can be used to communicate the RACconfiguration IDs 702 and 706 from the mobile station 102 to the accessnetwork interface 108 using any data packet without needing to use achannel request message (e.g., the channel request messages 202, 302,and 402 of FIGS. 2-4).

Although the RAC configuration IDs 702 and 706 can be advantageouslyused to inform access networks of radio access capabilities of mobilestations via channel request messages or payload-carrying data packets,in other example implementations, the RAC configuration IDs 702 and 706can alternatively or additionally be communicated in the PRR message 412and/or the AMSRAC message 418 of FIG. 4.

In some example implementations, the RAC configuration IDs 702 and 706can be pre-defined in a hierarchical configuration such that ones of theRAC configuration IDs 702 and 706 having higher values (or lower-valuesin a numerically descending hierarchy) implicitly indicate thatcapabilities corresponding to lower valued (or higher valued in anumerically descending hierarchy) ones of the RAC configuration IDs 702and 706 are also supported by a mobile station. For example, when theRAC configuration IDs 702 and 706 are pre-defined in an ascendinghierarchy, the mobile station 102 can send only a single one of the RACconfiguration IDs 702 and 706 to inform the access network interface 108that the mobile station 102 supports the capabilities indicated by thatone of the RAC configuration IDs 702 and 706 and all of the capabilitiesindicated by the lower-valued ones of the RAC configuration IDs 702 and706, but that were not explicitly communicated by the mobile station102. In some example implementations, such hierarchies may bepre-defined (or allocated by the access network 104) such thathigher-valued (or lower-valued in a numerically descending hierarchy)ones of the RAC configuration IDs 702 and 706 implicitly indicatesupport of capabilities corresponding to the lower-valued (orhigher-valued in a numerically descending hierarchy) ones of the RACconfiguration IDs 702 and 706 because support for the higher-valuedcapabilities requires support for the lower-valued capabilities.

In some example implementations, the radio access capabilities settings704 and 708 can be defined or configured based on different industrystandards including radio access technology standards. For example, theradio access capabilities settings 704 of FIG. 7A are shown as havingfirst, second, and third GPRS capability settings 704 a, 704 b, and 704c and the radio access capabilities settings 708 of FIG. 7B are shown ashaving first and second DTM capability settings 708 a and 708 b. In theillustrated example, each of the GPRS capability settings 704 a, 704 b,and 704 c indicates different capability settings with respect to theGPRS radio access technology capabilities subset of the table 700 (e.g.,different frequency bands, different multislot classes, different shiftkeying, different timing, etc.). In addition, each of the DTM capabilitysettings 708 a and 708 b indicates different capability settings withrespect to DTM communications. Although not shown, other types of radioaccess capabilities subsets can additionally or alternatively beimplemented for features or capability types other than GPRS and DTM.

For example implementations in which the RAC configuration IDs 702 and706 are negotiated between the mobile station 102 and the access networkinterface 108, the mobile station 102 can send a complete listing of itscapabilities (e.g., using a general capabilities structure 804 of FIGS.8A and 8B) to the access network interface 108. The access networkinterface 108 can then send the RAC configuration IDs 702 and 706corresponding to different radio access capabilities settingsconfigurations that the mobile station 102 is capable of supporting. Inthis manner, the mobile station 102 can use the RAC configuration IDs702 and 706 assigned by the access network 104 when establishingsubsequent data transfer sessions.

In some example implementations, each of the radio access capabilitiessettings 704 and 708 can be use-type configurations. For example, one ofthe RAC configuration IDs 702 can be indicative of MTC radio accesscapabilities of the mobile station 102 while other ones of the RACconfiguration IDs 702 can be indicative of uplink radio accesscapabilities and/or small data transfer capabilities of the mobilestation 102. In this manner, when the mobile station 102 intends to usea data transfer session (e.g., the data transfer session 120 of FIG. 1)for a particular type of use, the mobile station 102 can indicate itsradio access capabilities to the access network interface 108 using arespective one of the RAC configuration IDs 702 and/or 706.

In other example implementations, the RAC configuration IDs 702 and 706can be indicative of radio access technologies for respective technologytypes (e.g., capabilities of respective frequency bands) and/or can beindicative of device classes associated with, for example, different MTCor SDT capabilities. In this manner, when the mobile station 102 intendsto communicate over a data transfer session (e.g., the data transfersession 120 of FIG. 1) using a particular type of access technology ordevice class capabilities, the mobile station 102 can indicate its radioaccess capabilities for the access technology type to the access networkinterface 108 using a respective one of the RAC configuration IDs 702and 706.

In some instances, the mobile station 102 can send one of the RACconfiguration IDs 702 and/or 706 to indicate a single one of the radioaccess capabilities settings 704 and/or 708. In other instances, themobile station 102 can send two or more of the RAC configuration IDs 702and/or 706 to indicate multiple ones of the radio access capabilitiessettings 704 and/or 708. For example, the mobile station 102 can sendtwo of the RAC configuration IDs 702 related to GPRS capabilities (e.g.,send GPRS#01 and GPRS#02) or the mobile station 102 can send one or moreof the RAC configuration IDs 702 and one or more of the RACconfiguration IDs 706 to indicate GPRS and DTM capabilities (e.g., sendGPRS#01 and DTM#02).

FIGS. 8A-8C depict example structural formats that can be used to sendradio access capabilities information of the mobile system 102 (FIGS.1-4) to the access network interface 108 (FIGS. 1-4) in the MS radioaccess capabilities IE 414 (FIG. 4) during the example signalingexchanges of FIGS. 2-4. In the illustrated examples described herein,use-type radio access capabilities structures shown in FIGS. 8A-8C canbe advantageously used to limit the multislot classes, switching times,and packet switched handover capabilities indicated to the accessnetwork 104 as supported by the mobile station 102 to only thosecapabilities relevant to a requested data transfer session. In someexample implementations, the mobile station 102 implicitly or expresslyinforms the access network 104 that the radio access capabilitiesinformation indicated thereby is not complete (e.g., support for one ormore radio access capabilities may be implicit in the use of some or anyof the use-type radio access capabilities structures). Additionally oralternatively, the mobile station 102 informs (e.g., implicitly throughthe use of some or any of the use-type radio access capabilitiesstructures shown in FIGS. 8A-8C) the access network 104 that furtherradio access capabilities of the mobile station 102 can be obtained fromthe core network 106 (FIG. 1). Also, some of the use-type radio accesscapabilities structures can enable or facilitate omitting capabilitiesnot related to GSM communications.

As shown in FIG. 8A, an MS radio access capabilities value partstructure 802 specifies example formats for encoding the use-type codes602 of FIG. 6 in the coding form field 420 of the MS radio accesscapabilities IE 414 of FIG. 4. A general capabilities structure 804 ofFIGS. 8A and 8B specifies example formats for encoding an exhaustive orcomplete listing of radio access capabilities of the mobile station 102in the capabilities structure field 422 of the MS radio accesscapabilities IE 414 of FIG. 4. The general capabilities structure 804can be used to implement the type A structure 604 a of FIG. 6. Thegeneral radio access capabilities can be used to establish a datatransfer session between the mobile station 102 and the access networkinterface device 108 when a particular type of use for the data transfersession is not indicated or does not pertain to any other availableradio access capabilities structure of the mobile station 102.

A MTC capabilities structure 806 shown in FIG. 8B specifies exampleformats for encoding MTC radio access capabilities of the mobile station102 in the capabilities structure field 422 of the MS radio accesscapabilities IE 414 of FIG. 4. The MTC capabilities structure 806 can beused to implement the type B structure 604 b of FIG. 6 to establish datatransfer sessions for use in machine-to-machine data transfers.

An uplink capabilities structure 808 shown in FIG. 8C specifies exampleformats for encoding uplink-specific radio access capabilities of themobile station 102 in the capabilities structure field 422 of the MSradio access capabilities IE 414 of FIG. 4. For example, while otherradio access capabilities structures (e.g., the structures 804, 806, and810) can provide capabilities information related to uplink and downlinkcommunications (e.g., uplink/downlink capabilities for MTC or SDT datatransfers), the uplink capabilities structure 808 can be indicative ofcapabilities related only to uplink communications to establishuplink-specific data transfer sessions. The uplink capabilitiesstructure 808 can be used to implement the type C structure 604 c ofFIG. 6 to establish data transfer sessions for use in uplink datatransfers.

An SDT capabilities structure 810 shown in FIG. 8C specifies exampleformats for encoding small data transfer radio access capabilities ofthe mobile station 102 in the capabilities structure field 422 of the MSradio access capabilities IE 414 of FIG. 4. The SDT capabilitiesstructure 810 can be used to implement the type D structure 604 d ofFIG. 6 to establish data transfer sessions for use in small datatransfers. For purposes of brevity, some radio access capabilitiesinformation of the SDT capabilities structure 810 is not shown indetail.

An additional access technologies structure 812 shown in FIG. 8Cspecifies whether other access technology types (e.g., other frequencybands) are supported by the mobile station 102. In some exampleimplementations, the additional access technologies structure 812 can beencoded in the capabilities structure field 422 of the MS radio accesscapabilities IE 414 of FIG. 4 in connection with any of the capabilitiesstructures 804, 806, 808, or 810 to indicate different access technologytypes for which the mobile station 102 supports the radio accesscapabilities of the capabilities structures 804, 806, 808, or 810.

FIGS. 9-13 depict example flow diagrams representative of exampleprocesses that may be implemented using hardware and/or computerreadable instructions that may be used to communicate radio accesscapabilities of a mobile station (e.g., the mobile station 102 of FIGS.1-4) to an access network (e.g., the access network 104 of FIG. 1). Theexample operations of FIGS. 9-13 may be performed using a processor, acontroller and/or any other suitable processing device. For example, theexample operations of FIGS. 9-13 may be implemented using codedinstructions stored on a tangible medium such as a flash memory, aread-only memory (ROM) and/or random-access memory (RAM) associated witha processor (e.g., the processor 1402 of FIG. 14). Alternatively, someor all of the example operations of FIGS. 9-13 may be implemented usingany combination(s) of application specific integrated circuit(s)(ASIC(s)), programmable logic device(s) (PLD(s)), field programmablelogic device(s) (FPLD(s)), discrete logic, hardware, firmware, etc.Also, some or all of the example operations of FIGS. 9-13 may beimplemented manually or as any combination(s) of any of the foregoingtechniques, for example, any combination of firmware, software, discretelogic and/or hardware. Further, although the example operations of FIGS.9-13 are described with reference to the flow diagrams of FIGS. 9-13,other methods of implementing the operations of FIGS. 9-13 may beemployed. For example, the order of execution of the blocks may bechanged, and/or some of the blocks described may be changed, eliminated,sub-divided, or combined. Additionally, any or all of the exampleoperations of FIGS. 9-13 may be performed sequentially and/or inparallel by, for example, separate processing threads, processors,devices, discrete logic, circuits, etc.

The example flow diagrams of FIGS. 9-13 are described in connection withthe example signaling diagram of FIG. 400. Some implementations of theflow diagrams can be implemented using two-phase access procedures suchas the two-phase access procedure 200 of FIG. 2, while otherimplementations of the flow diagrams can be implemented using one-phaseaccess procedures such as the one-phase access procedure 300 of FIG. 3.

FIG. 9 is a flow diagram representative of an example process that maybe implemented using machine readable instructions to select andcommunicate radio access control information of the mobile station 102of FIGS. 1-4. Initially, the mobile station 102 registers with the corenetwork 106 of FIG. 1 (block 901). For example, upon discovering theaccess network 104, the mobile station 102 can perform the registrationprocess 118 (FIG. 1) using non-access stratum signaling and send anexhaustive list of its radio access capabilities or a list of downlinkradio access capabilities to the core network 106 (FIG. 1).

When the mobile station 102 intends to perform a data transfer, themobile station 102 sends the channel request message 402 of FIG. 4 tothe access network interface 108 (block 902). In the illustratedexample, the mobile station 102 requests in the channel request message402 to perform a two-phase access procedure (e.g., the two-phase accessprocedure 200 of FIG. 2). In some example implementations, the mobilestation 102 may also use the channel request message 402 to request aquantity (N) of blocks to be allocated on an uplink data channel to itby the access network 104 to use for communicating its radio accesscapabilities. Such an allocation of blocks can be requested using, forexample, the requested block quantity field 404 of FIG. 4. In someexample implementations, the mobile station 102 may determine a quantity(N) of blocks value for the requested block quantity field 404 based ona quantity of data or data size required to send the radio accesscapabilities information (e.g., radio access capabilities relevant for aparticular type of use of a data transfer session or radio accesscapabilities that are commonly supported by the mobile station 102 andthe access network 104, which may be for a particular type of use of adata transfer session) of the mobile station 102 to the access networkinterface 108.

The mobile station 102 receives the immediate assignment message 408from the access network interface 108 (block 904). In the illustratedexample, the immediate assignment message 408 indicates a quantity (N)of blocks allocated to the mobile station 102 on an uplink data channelto communicate its radio access capabilities to the access network 104.In some example implementations, the quantity (N) of blocks may be aquantity requested by the mobile station 102, while in other exampleimplementations, the quantity (N) of blocks may be allocated by theaccess network 104 regardless of a particular quantity requested by themobile station 102.

The mobile station 102 selects its mobile station radio accesscapabilities information to send to the access network interface 108(block 906). The mobile station 102 can use any of the techniquesdescribed above in connection with FIGS. 4-7 and 8A-8C to select theradio access capabilities information. The example flow diagrams ofFIGS. 10-12 described below can be used to implement block 906.

The mobile station 102 generates the mobile station radio accesscapabilities information element (MS RAC IE) 414 of FIGS. 4 and 5 forthe PRR message 412 of FIG. 4 (block 908). The mobile station 102 thengenerates the PRR message 412 of FIG. 4 to include the MS RAC IE 414(block 910). The mobile station 102 determines whether it needsadditional space for additional radio access capabilities information(block 912). For example, the mobile station 102 may require furtherspace than available in the PRR message 412 to communicate itscapabilities. If the mobile station 102 determines that it does not needadditional space (block 912), the mobile station 102 sends the PRRmessage 412 to the access network interface 108 (block 914).

If the mobile station 102 determines that it needs additional space(block 912), the mobile station 102 sets a value in the AMSRAC indicatorfield 416 (FIG. 4) of the PRR message 412 (block 916) to indicate thatit will communicate additional radio access capability information inthe AMSRAC message 418 of FIG. 4 to the network access interface device108. The mobile station 102 generates another instance of the MS RAC IE414 with the additional capabilities for the AMSRAC message 418 (block918). The mobile station 102 then generates the AMSRAC message 418(block 920) including the additional instance of the MS RAC IE 414 withthe additional radio access capabilities. The mobile station 102 sendsthe PRR message 412 and the AMSRAC message 418 to the access networkinterface 108 (block 922). The access network interface 108 can beconfigured to decode and use the capabilities information in the PRRmessage 412 and the AMSRAC message 418 in a number of ways. For example,the access network interface 108 can begin decoding and using the accesscapabilities in the PRR message 412 to begin allocating an uplink datachannel prior to receiving the AMSRAC message 418 and then decode theAMSRAC message 418 to finish allocating and configuring the uplink datachannel in accordance with the radio access capabilities indicated bythe mobile station 102. Alternatively, the access network interface 108can wait until it has received both the PRR message 412 and the AMSRACmessage 418 before decoding and using the radio access capabilitiesinformation to allocate and configure the uplink data channel for themobile station 102.

After the mobile station 102 sends the PRR message 412 and the AMSRACmessage 418 at block 922 or after the mobile station 102 sends the PRRmessage 412 at block 914 without setting the AMSRAC indicator field 416,the mobile station 102 receives a packet uplink assignment message(e.g., the packet uplink assignment message 210) (block 924) from theaccess network interface device 108. The packet uplink assignmentmessage indicates an uplink data channel allocated to the mobile device102 via which to perform the data transfer session 120 (FIG. 1). In theillustrated example, the access network interface 108 allocates andconfigures the uplink data channel in accordance with the radio accesscapabilities provided by the mobile station 102. The example process ofFIG. 9 then ends.

FIG. 10 is a flow diagram representative of an example process that maybe implemented using machine readable instructions to select radioaccess capabilities information of the mobile station 102 of FIGS. 1-4.In some example implementations, the example process of FIG. 10 can beused to implement block 906 of FIG. 9. In the illustrated exampleprocess of FIG. 10, radio access capabilities are selected using theuse-type codes 602 of FIG. 6 and their associated use-type radio accesscapabilities structures 604.

Initially, the mobile station 102 determines whether and which of theuse-type coding forms (e.g., the use-type codes 602 and associatedcapabilities structures 604 of FIG. 6) are supported by the accessnetwork 104 (block 1002). For example, the access network 104 maycommunicate an indication of support for such coding forms in thebroadcast SI message 401 (FIG. 4) (or in any other suitable message). Insome example implementations, the broadcast SI message 401 may also beused to indicate whether the access network 104 supports only some (butnot all) use-type capability structures (e.g., the access network 104supports the MTC capabilities structure 806, but not the SDTcapabilities structure 810 of FIG. 8) and their identities. Forinstance, networks could be configured to have default support for thegeneral capabilities structure 804 (FIGS. 8A and 8B) and networks thatsupport optimized capabilities for MTC and/or SDT could additionallysupport the MTC capabilities structure 806 and/or the SDT capabilitiesstructure 810. Additionally or alternatively, particular use-typecapabilities could be implicitly supported by an access network onspecific channel types supported by the access network. In someinstances, some types of channels that can be allocated by accessnetworks may support only MTC communications, while other types ofchannels may support only SDT communications.

If the access network 104 supports the use-type coding form(s) (block1002) preferred by or available to the mobile station 102, the mobilestation 102 selects the corresponding type of use for the data transfersession it is establishing (block 1004). Example types of uses may be amachine-to-machine data transfer use, an uplink data transfer use, asmall data transfer use, or any other type of use. The mobile station102 then selects a MS radio access capabilities structure (e.g., one ofthe use-type radio access capabilities structures 604 of FIG. 6 orstructures 804, 806, 808, and 810 of FIG. 8) and a correspondinguse-type code (e.g., one of the use-type codes 602 of FIG. 6) pertainingto the type of use for the data transfer session (block 1006).

The mobile station 102 applies a corresponding formatting of theselected MS radio access capabilities structure to the structural formatof the capabilities structure field 422 of the MS radio accesscapabilities IE 414 of FIG. 4 (block 1008). In this manner, the mobilestation 102 can encode the MS radio access capabilities IE 414 at block908 of FIG. 9 with one of the use-type codes 602 and the correspondingradio access capabilities information in accordance with a structuralformat of the selected MS radio access capabilities structure.

If the mobile station 102 determines at block 1002 that the accessnetwork 104 does not support use-type coding forms, the mobile station102 can select radio access capability information based on legacycapabilities formats (block 1010). The mobile station 102 can thenencode the radio access capabilities information in the MS radio accesscapabilities IE 414 at block 908 of FIG. 9 in accordance with a legacystructural format. After block 1006 or after block 1008, the exampleprocess of FIG. 10 ends and/or returns control to a calling function orprocess such as the example process of FIG. 9.

FIG. 11 is a flow diagram representative of another example process thatmay be implemented using machine readable instructions to select radioaccess capabilities information of the mobile station 102 of FIGS. 1-4.In some example implementations, the example process of FIG. 11 can beused to implement block 906 of FIG. 9 or block 1302 of FIG. 13. In theillustrated example process of FIG. 11, radio access capabilities areselected using the RAC configuration IDs 702 and/or 706 of FIGS. 7A and7B.

In the example process of FIG. 11, the mobile station 102 selects one ormore RAC configuration ID(s) 702, 706 (block 1102). As discussed abovein connection with FIGS. 7A and 7B, the RAC configuration IDs 702, 706correspond to different ones of the radio access capabilities settings704, 708. In this manner, the mobile station 102 can insert the selectedRAC configuration ID(s) 702,706 in the channel request message 402 orthe PRR message 412 of FIG. 4 to indicate its capabilities to the accessnetwork 104. The example process of FIG. 11 ends and/or returns controlto a calling function or process such as the example process of FIG. 9or the example process of FIG. 13.

FIG. 12 is a flow diagram representative of another example process thatmay be implemented using machine readable instructions to select radioaccess capability information of the mobile station 102 of FIGS. 1-4. Insome example implementations, the example process of FIG. 12 can be usedto implement block 906 of FIG. 9. In the illustrated example process ofFIG. 12, radio access capabilities are selected based on radio accesscapabilities supported by the access network 104.

Initially, the mobile station 102 determines which radio accesscapabilities are supported by the access network 104 (block 1202). Forexample, the mobile station 102 can receive the broadcast SI messages401 (FIG. 4) from the access network interface 108 indicating the radioaccess capabilities that are supported by the access network 104. Forexample, the access network interface 108 can indicate such supportedcapabilities using the network-supported capabilities field(s) 410 ofFIG. 4. The mobile station 102 then selects its radio accesscapabilities (using, for example, one or more of the techniquesdisclosed herein) based on the network-supported capabilities (block1204). The example process of FIG. 12 ends and/or returns control to acalling function or process such as the example process of FIG. 9.

FIG. 13 is a flow diagram representative of an example process that maybe implemented using machine readable instructions to implement anexample radio access capabilities signaling exchange in which the mobilestation 102 requests a one-phase access procedure (e.g., the one-phaseaccess procedure 300 of FIG. 3). Initially, the mobile station 102registers with the core network 106 of FIG. 1 (block 1301). For example,upon discovering the access network 104, the mobile station 102 canperform the registration process 118 (FIG. 1) using non-access stratumsignaling and send an exhaustive list of its radio access capabilitiesor a list of downlink radio access capabilities to the core networkinterface 106 (FIG. 1).

When the mobile station 102 intends to perform a data transfer, themobile station 102 selects its radio access capabilities information(block 1302) to indicate to the access network 104. In the illustratedexample, the mobile station 102 selects radio access capabilities basedon the RAC configuration IDs 702 and/or 706 of FIGS. 7A and 7B asdescribed above in connection with FIG. 11. In this manner, the mobilestation 102 can communicate its radio access capabilities to the accessnetwork 104 using a relatively small quantity of bits in the channelrequest message 402 (FIG. 4).

The mobile station 102 generates the channel request message 402 (block1304). In the channel request message 402, the mobile station 102includes the mobile station radio access capabilities informationselected at block 1302 and a request to establish a data transfersession using a one-phase access procedure (e.g., the one-phase accessprocedure 300 of FIG. 3). For example, the mobile station 102 can set aselected one or more of the RAC configuration IDs 702, 706 in thecapabilities configuration ID field(s) 406 (FIG. 4) of the channelrequest message 402. The mobile station 102 sends the channel requestmessage 402 to the access network interface 108 (block 1306).

The mobile station 102 receives the immediate assignment message 408from the access network interface 108 (block 1312). The immediateassignment message 408 indicates an uplink data channel allocated foruse by the mobile station 102 to perform the data transfer session 120(FIG. 1). In the illustrated example, the uplink data channel isallocated and configured in accordance with the radio accesscapabilities provided by the mobile station 102.

In some example implementations, the access network 104 may grant theone-phase access procedure requested by the mobile station 102, but willrequire further radio access capabilities information from the mobilestation 102 (e.g., a full or exhaustive listing of radio accesscapabilities of the mobile station 102). If the mobile station 102determines that the access network 104 has not requested further radioaccess capabilities information from the mobile station 102 (block1314), then the data transfer session 120 is established between themobile station 102 and the access network 104 (based on a one-phaseaccess procedure), and the example process of FIG. 13 ends. However, ifthe mobile station 102 determines that the access network 104 hasrequested further radio access capabilities information from the mobilestation 102 (block 1314), the mobile station 102 sends the further radioaccess capabilities information on the allocated data channel using aPRR message (e.g., the PRR message 412 of FIG. 4) or PRR and AMSRACmessages (the PRR message 412 and the AMSRAC message 418 of FIG. 4)(block 1316). For example, the mobile station 102 may use the PRRmessage 412 and the AMSRAC message 418 when the PRR message 412 does notprovide sufficient space to communicate all of the requested radioaccess capabilities to the access network 104. In the illustratedexample, block 1316 may be implemented using operations similar oridentical to the operations described above in connection with blocks906, 908, 910, 912, 914, 916, 918, 920, and 922 of FIG. 9. The exampleprocess of FIG. 13 then ends.

Now turning to FIG. 14, an illustrated example of the mobile station 102of FIGS. 1-4 is shown in block diagram form. In the illustrated example,the mobile station 102 includes a processor 1402 that may be used tocontrol the overall operation of the mobile station 102. The processor1402 may be implemented using a controller, a general purpose processor,a digital signal processor, dedicated hardware, or any combinationthereof.

The example mobile station 102 also includes a FLASH memory 1404, arandom access memory (RAM) 1406, and an expandable memory interface 1408communicatively coupled to the processor 1402. The FLASH memory 1404 canbe used to, for example, store computer readable instructions and/ordata. In some example implementations, the FLASH memory 1404 can be usedto store one or more of the data structures of FIGS. 5-7 and 8A-8C. TheRAM 1406 can also be used to, for example, store data and/orinstructions. The mobile station 102 is also provided with an externaldata I/O interface 1410. The external data I/O interface 1410 may beused by a user to transfer information to and from the mobile station102 through a wired medium.

The mobile station 102 is provided with a wireless communicationsubsystem 1412 to enable wireless communications with wireless networkssuch as mobile communication networks, cellular communications networks,wireless local area networks (WLANs), etc. To enable a user to use andinteract with or via the mobile station 102, the mobile station 102 isprovided with a speaker 1414, a microphone 1416, a display 1418, and auser input interface 1420. The display 1418 can be an LCD display, ane-paper display, etc. The user input interface 1420 could be analphanumeric keyboard and/or telephone-type keypad, a multi-directionactuator or roller wheel with dynamic button pressing capability, atouch panel, etc.

The mobile station 102 is also provided with a real-time clock (RTC)1422 to track dates and a current time of day and/or to implementtime-based and/or date-based operations. In the illustrated example, themobile station 102 is a battery-powered device and is, thus, providedwith a battery 1424 and a battery interface 1426.

Although certain methods, apparatus, and articles of manufacture havebeen described herein, the scope of coverage of this patent is notlimited thereto. To the contrary, this patent covers all methods,apparatus, and articles of manufacture fairly falling within the scopeof the appended claims either literally or under the doctrine ofequivalents.

1. A method to communicate capabilities of a device, comprising:generating a message to initiate a data transfer session between amobile station and a network, the message adaptable to indicatedifferent radio access capabilities information of the mobile station;indicating a subset of the different radio access capabilitiesinformation of the mobile station in the message, the indicated subsetpertaining to a specific type of use by the mobile station for the datatransfer session; and sending the message from the mobile station to thenetwork.
 2. A method as defined in claim 1, wherein indicating thesubset of the different radio access capabilities information of themobile station in the message comprises excluding at least anothersubset of the different radio access capabilities information of themobile station from the message.
 3. A method as defined in claim 2,wherein the at least another subset of the different radio accesscapabilities information excluded from the message is associated withradio access capabilities irrelevant to the specific type of use by themobile station for the data transfer session.
 4. A method as defined inclaim 1, wherein the subset of the different radio access capabilitiesinformation defines capabilities associated with one of amachine-to-machine data transfer session or a small data transfersession.
 5. A method as defined in claim 1, further comprising selectingthe subset of the different radio access capabilities information of themobile station based on radio access capabilities supported by thenetwork.
 6. A method as defined in claim 1, wherein indicating thesubset of the different radio access capabilities information of themobile station in the message comprises inserting one of a plurality ofcode values in the message, each of the plurality of code valuespre-defined to indicate a different respective subset of the differentradio access capabilities.
 7. A method as defined in claim 1, furthercomprising: sending a request message from the mobile station to thenetwork for an assignment of resources from the network; receiving anassignment message at the mobile station from the network; and sendingthe message from the mobile station to the network via an associatedcontrol channel in response to the assignment message.
 8. A method asdefined in claim 7, wherein the assignment message allocates a quantityof blocks for use by the mobile station to send the radio accesscapabilities information.
 9. A method as defined in claim 7, wherein therequest message for the assignment of resources indicates a quantity ofblocks requested by the mobile station to send the radio accesscapabilities information to the network.
 10. A method as defined inclaim 1, further comprising: sending a channel request from the mobilestation to the network; and receiving an assignment message at themobile station from the network, wherein the channel request is sent inthe message from the mobile station to the network, and wherein theassignment message allocates a data channel for use by the mobilestation to perform a data transfer of the data transfer session betweenthe mobile station and the network.
 11. A method as defined in claim 1,wherein sending the message from the mobile station to the networkcomprises sending the message during a data transfer session setupprocess.
 12. A method as defined in claim 1, further comprising, whenthe message indicates that a second message is to be sent by the mobilestation to indicate additional radio access capabilities informationassociated with the mobile station, sending the additional message fromthe mobile station to the network including the additional radio accesscapabilities information.
 13. A method as defined in claim 1, whereinthe data transfer session is implemented using a temporary block flowcommunication session.
 14. A method as defined in claim 1, whereinindicating the subset of the different radio access capabilitiesinformation of the mobile station comprises selecting the subset of thedifferent radio access capabilities information in response todetermining that the network supports the radio access capabilitiesassociated with the selected subset of the different radio accesscapabilities information.
 15. A method as defined in claim 1, whereinsending the message from the mobile station to the network occurs afterthe mobile station registers with a core network of the network during aregistration process, and wherein during the registration process, themobile station sends one of an exhaustive listing of radio accesscapabilities or a listing of radio access capabilities relevant only todownlink communications to the core network.
 16. An apparatus tocommunicate capabilities of a device, comprising: a processor configuredto: generate a message to initiate a data transfer session between amobile station and a network, the message adaptable to indicatedifferent radio access capabilities information of the mobile station;indicate a subset of the different radio access capabilities informationof the mobile station in the message, the indicated subset pertaining toa specific type of use by the mobile station for the data transfersession; and send the message from the mobile station to the network.17. An apparatus as defined in claim 16, wherein the processor isconfigured to exclude at least another subset of the different radioaccess capabilities information of the mobile station from the message.18. An apparatus as defined in claim 17, wherein the at least anothersubset of the different radio access capabilities information excludedfrom the message is associated with radio access capabilities irrelevantto the specific type of use by the mobile station for the data transfersession.
 19. An apparatus as defined in claim 16, wherein the subset ofthe different radio access capabilities information defines capabilitiesassociated with one of a machine-to-machine data transfer session or asmall data transfer session.
 20. An apparatus as defined in claim 16,wherein the processor is further configured to select the subset of thedifferent radio access capabilities information of the mobile stationbased on radio access capabilities supported by the network.
 21. Anapparatus as defined in claim 16, wherein the processor is configured toindicate the subset of the different radio access capabilitiesinformation of the mobile station in the message by inserting one of aplurality of code values in the message, each of the plurality of codevalues pre-defined to indicate a different respective subset of thedifferent radio access capabilities.
 22. An apparatus as defined inclaim 16, wherein the processor is further configured to: send a requestmessage from the mobile station to the network for an assignment ofresources from the network; receive an assignment message at the mobilestation from the network; and send the message from the mobile stationto the network via an associated control channel in response to theassignment message.
 23. An apparatus as defined in claim 22, wherein theassignment message allocates a quantity of blocks for use by the mobilestation to send the radio access capabilities information.
 24. Anapparatus as defined in claim 22, wherein the request message for theassignment of resources indicates a quantity of blocks requested by themobile station to send the radio access capabilities information to thenetwork.
 25. An apparatus as defined in claim 16, wherein the processoris further configured to: send a channel request from the mobile stationto the network; and receive an assignment message at the mobile stationfrom the network, wherein the channel request is sent in the messagefrom the mobile station to the network, and wherein the assignmentmessage allocates a data channel for use by the mobile station toperform a data transfer of the data transfer session between the mobilestation and the network.
 26. An apparatus as defined in claim 16,wherein the processor is configured to send the message from the mobilestation to the network during a data transfer session setup process. 27.An apparatus as defined in claim 16, wherein the processor is furtherconfigured to, when the message indicates that a second message is to besent by the mobile station to indicate additional radio accesscapabilities information associated with the mobile station, send theadditional message from the mobile station to the network including theadditional radio access capabilities information.
 28. An apparatus asdefined in claim 16, wherein the data transfer session is implementedusing a temporary block flow communication session.
 29. An apparatus asdefined in claim 16, wherein the processor is configured to indicate thesubset of the different radio access capabilities information of themobile station by selecting the subset of the different radio accesscapabilities information in response to determining that the networksupports the radio access capabilities associated with the selectedsubset of the different radio access capabilities information.
 30. Anapparatus as defined in claim 16, wherein the processor is configured tosend the message from the mobile station to the network after the mobilestation registers with a core network of the network during aregistration process, and wherein during the registration process, theprocessor is configured to send one of an exhaustive listing of radioaccess capabilities or a listing of radio access capabilities relevantonly to downlink communications to the core network.
 31. A tangiblecomputer readable medium having instructions stored thereon that, whenexecuted, cause a machine to implement a method according to claim 1.